


Compare And Contrast

by AletaOgord



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Sad, Stakar is a lonely man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 07:17:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15334695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AletaOgord/pseuds/AletaOgord
Summary: They survive apart.





	Compare And Contrast

**Author's Note:**

> I really like Stakar and Aleta's dynamic, so I wanted to explore what I thought would happen after Yondu's death.

Aleta gives him a courage he doesn’t quite own. He should be confident and well put-together, he’s fucking immortal, but at the end of the day it’s Aleta who gives him the extra strength to simply exist. 

She does this in her own fucked-up way, of course. She doesn’t know she’s doing it, and he’s sure if she did she would stop. And truthfully, he wouldn’t blame her. She protects him in battle and speaks over him in meetings, forcing him to take back control of the room, of the fight. When it’s just them she runs his life, she proposed separate ships, and it was her who made her own faction. He forces himself to take up just enough space in her life that they both feel complete.

She seems to get by without him, after the children and Yondu, and the rest of the things Stakar’s lost or fucked up. She leaves and does fine without him. She comes back and it’s like she’d never left, never was affected by losing first her children, then her surrogate child. She laughs, and drinks, and smokes with the crew. She talks to him like she doesn’t blame him, when really she does; how couldn’t she? It’s that attitude that keeps Stakar going, only because if she can stay through that, she must be made of stardust and something tougher. 

He doesn’t drink as much anymore, he goes on walks. He takes Aleta planetside for 2 cycles for the hell of it. She drinks enough for both of them, and starts fights, bringing back confidence and units in spades. He doesn’t take her planetside again. 

It takes two months for Yondu to be brought up. Everyone explodes, Krugarr accuses Stakar, Stakar blames Yondu; it was his own damn fault anyway. Aleta tells them all to shut up, of course it’s Stakar’s fault but who cares now, because Yondu is dead, he’s stardust. Martinex stays after everyone leaves, he blames Stakar too, but he drinks some xandarian whiskey with him anyway. He doesn't stay long though, and Stakar doesn’t mind the solitude.

Mainframe and Charlie leave the next day, followed by Krugarr a day later. Aleta stays, he thinks mostly out of wifely obedience. Marty takes over the crew for a few days, so he and Aleta can hash their shit out. She decides to leave again. She does love him, but he reminds her of so much loss. She kisses him softly before whispering that as much as she loves him, she could never forgive him. She takes a bottle of his good Hraxian gin and leaves. He trashes his ship before getting his own bottle.

He only hears about her through the others, and later through Yondu’s boy. She helped them take down a army. Apparently she later sells her ship, the one he worked too hard to replicate after his ship. He thinks this is her worst betrayal, until Kraglin joins her ranks. His son’s loyal partner and first mate. He hasn’t heard from Kraglin since the funeral, he’ll never hear from him again.

A downside to immortality is crippling loneliness. He and Aleta no longer connected, their Starhawk days are over. Stakar hardly talks to Martinex, who’d long since taken over his ranks. Stakar served as a figurehead. Mainframe sends viruses to the ship’s systems, her own way of keeping in touch. Charlie doesn’t call, Kruggar doesn’t either. Stakar spends his time on bars in Contraxia. The bots know him by name now, his unit card on file. He sees her there once, laughing with a tall man. She looks genuinely happy. What he doesn’t know is she saw him first, and after he left she followed him back to a motel. She watches two bots come up to him, flirting shamelessly. There is a pang in her heart she can’t ignore.

Years later they meet again. Aleta still as radiant and confident as always. She holds him close, until he breaks down into tears, cursing her and everyone who made their last 50 years a living hell. She rocks him gently, explaining why she couldn’t stay. Suddenly everything is clear, she hates herself too. Blaming each other was just the most convenient option. Stakar looks at her surprised, she looks out at the smokey planet they’re on. They agree they can’t stay apart. Stakar moves onto her ship, giving Martinex his faction. He doesn’t hear from Marty again.

They have each other. Aleta no longer lets him borrow her authority, and he doesn’t try. He doesn’t wear the flames anymore, and her crew is dwindling to the point where she can’t be bothered to regroup. It’s just them within the year. 

He still won’t heal, she might. She has always been tougher than him.


End file.
